Report: Airbnb helps the Louisiana creative community pursue careers in the arts

Guests who stay at Natalie’s home in New Orleans always notice the artistic touches throughout the historic shotgun house. Reviews describe a “beautifully curated space,” one that’s “filled with beautiful and interesting art.” But what these guests may not know is that their reservations support Natalie, a jewelry designer and artist, as she pursues her own career in the arts.

“Hosting has augmented my ability to make a living as an artist. It has brought consistency to my income, allowing me to pursue my artistic career full time,” says Natalie.

Natalie is a member of the global creative community. Within that group, made up of people who work in film, visual arts, design, architecture, entertainment, photography, music and fashion industries, 60 percent say Airbnb has helped them afford to stay in their homes.

Through Airbnb’s 2017 internal survey of hosts and guests*, we found that one in 10 Airbnb Home hostsidentify themselves as members of the creative community. The rate is slightly higher in the State of Louisiana, where more than one in 10 Airbnb Home hosts (14%) identify as members of the creative community.

Hosting provides creatives with a reliable source of extra income that can help them afford the more uneven stream of income from pursuing their artistic professions.

“As a teaching artist, I started hosting as a way to supplement my income and help me pay my mortgage. Joining the Airbnb community ended up providing me so much more than I could have imagined,” said Lissie, an art teacher, artist, and Airbnb host in New Orleans. “Between the joy of getting to meet people from all over they world and supplementing a teacher’s salary, hosting through Airbnb gave me the flexibility that enabled me to travel as well.”

Creatives are also supplementing their incomes through Experiences, handcrafted and local-led activities bookable through the Airbnb platform. Through Experiences, Airbnb provides creatives with ways to build followings and earn income for sharing their work. From hat-making in Paris, to mural and street art in Atlanta and Denver, to a photo class set in the French Quarter, these creative Experiences allow members of the creative community to connect with other creatives to get inspired in different places in the world.

As of September 2018, more than one in four—28 percent—of all Experiences* are creative-based, rooted in the arts, entertainment, fashion, or music. And in New Orleans, one in every five Experiences is creative-based.

Globally, the average annual earnings for a creative Experience host who hosts twice a week is $9,000, while the average annual earnings for creative Experience hosts who host more frequently, at 15 times per month, is upwards of $25,000.

Airbnb and the Creative Community

Homes

Globally, 1 in 10 Home hosts is a member of the creative community

60% of creative Home hosts globally say Airbnb has helped them afford to stay in their homes

In Louisiana, more than 1 in 10 Home hosts (14%) is a member of the global creative community and 45% of creative hosts have more than one creative role

Data cited in this post about Airbnb Homes hosts and guests comes from the latest Airbnb Community Compact survey, in which over 130,000 hosts and guests around the world who used the Airbnb platform in 2017 responded. Hosts reported their employment industry, which was used to estimate the percent of hosts who work in the creative industry, and also reported how they use their Airbnb hosting income.

Data cited in this post about Airbnb Experiences comes from internal Airbnb data, as of September 1, 2018. Creative Experiences are defined as Experiences in the arts, entertainment, fashion or music categories. Host earnings for creative Experience hosts were annualized using the global average monthly earnings during September 2018 for creative Experience hosts who hosted 8 times per month and for creative Experience hosts who hosted 15 times per month.